demon's bane
by shikyokage
Summary: Two mysterious ninjas appear in front of the gate of Konoha here to take the chunin exam. Also with the upcoming sand invasion will they be allies or enemies? Full of humor,OCs involved,narutoXhinata, OCxKakashi,OCx?
1. Chapter 1

**Summary:Two mysterious ninjas appear in front of the gate of Konoha here to take the chunin exam. Also with the upcoming sand invasion will they be allies or enemies? Full of humor,OCs involved,narutoXhinata, OCxKakashi,OCx?**

**This is a fic me and some friends wrote and the ocs reflect are own personalty. hope like it and don't forget post a review ALSO I DON'T OWN NARUTO ALL RIGHTS BELONG TO ****Masashi Kishimoto**

**AN: this is a revised chapter one all it is, is a little more detailed and that's it how and if any one knows anyone doing commissions could you let me know AND I AM SORRY CHAPTER 6 IS TAKING SO LONG. IT IS A COMBO OF WRITERS BLOCK AND SLOW BETA **

Chapter 1:

Hatake Kakashi stood on the walls of Konoha, watching the Genin and their Jonin senseis arrive from various villages. He noted curiously that a two-man cell from a village he'd never heard of seemed to have no sensei with them. The girl had hair with naturally dark earth tones, dyed with green for a camouflage effect, was bedecked in kunai and scrolls, and had a katana slung over her shoulder. Her comrade had short, spiky blond hair, and had a katana hung at his left waist which was hard to see do to a black trench vest he was wearing, and the rest if his attire was black, black shirt, black pants and black shoes . But, as there were only the two of them... It sparked his curiosity enough that he followed them, intent on eavesdropping. His team could safely be left alone for now. They had just been told that, since they all three were willing to take the exam, they would all three be allowed to.

"So, Asano, what do you say about our chances here?" the girl asked. She thumped her passport against her hand idly, and the Copy-nin read that her age was seventeen and the appearances were correct; these two had no sensei, nor even a real ninja village. They'd been taught the ways of ninja by a ninja whose name wasn't listed, and had become qualified to take the exam by doing odd jobs for the people around their home village who needed but couldn't afford ninja help.

"well I say we're almost guaranteed to win, as no one else has the tricks up their sleeves that we do."groused the boy,

The girl snorted. "True enough about that, but I get the feeling that we're not the only ones with tricks up our sleeves, and something in the air here says there's some major plot about to be set in motion." She hefted her sheathed sword slightly and added, "She agrees with me, too."

Slightly perplexed as to why the two seemed to be talking about their swords as if they were living beings, Kakashi continued to follow them. They walked to the nearest dining establishment, and then they ordered more food than even Naruto normally ate...each. Anei ordered a large dish of cashew chicken, a bowl of fried rice, a dish of sesame chicken, a platter of rice cakes, a dish of orange chicken, and a fair-sized bowl of sweet and sour pork. Asano asked for several servings worth of black pepper chicken and a side of pocky. Both drank sake, which had Kakashi confused. How did they get it? They were both underage, and neither was a Chunin yet.

Anei asked her blade to pass along a message to Asano's blade, with the request that it be passed to Asano. Kakashi had no idea he'd been noticed, nor that they could communicate without talking, even if it was only in a relayed manner. Asano, upon getting the message, nodded. Ignoring the Copy-nin for the rest of the meal, they dug in. Their blades, unnoticed by any save their wielders, hummed softly to each other in communion as they debated what they wished to do to the unknown spy. Even for blades, they were rather bloodthirsty.

Asano finished his food first, opened his fortune cookie, and made a face. "'Patience is rewarded' in bed. Yeah, right. Stamina, maybe." He dropped the fortune on the tray and stared at Anei's. "...can I open it for you?"

"No." She finished off her fifth course, started on the next, and said, "But you can bag half of those rice cakes. I'll munch on them later." Knowing if she wasn't careful, he'd steal her fortune cookie and open it anyways, she grabbed it and stuffed it in a vest pocket, then promptly forgot about it.

Her teammate grumbled, but compliantly bagged half of her rice cakes, stealing one in the process. "What?" he asked when she glared at him. "You haff exfrahs an' I'm still kinda hung'y." He took another bite.

"Chikushō," she muttered around a mouthful of sweet and sour pork. "The man's blind." She took another heaping bite, and smiled. "To our ben'fit, though." Swallowing, she raised her sake in a toast, and Asano seconded it. "Let's win this thing."

After draining their drinks, each pulled out a coin pouch from beneath their vests and paid for their own orders. They left side by side, feet falling in sync. Kakashi followed them to an alleyway, only to discover to his shock that they were looking right at him.

"It's rude to stare," Anei noted.

Asano couldn't help but stare in shock at his partner. "Since when do you care about manners?" he demanded.

Anei blinked. "I don't. But this isn't about manners; it's about common courtesy."

Her teammate blinked again. "And since when have you cared about that, either?"

She ignored him—an action well-practiced—and turned back to look at the Copy-nin. "I hear you never let others watch while you eat. You owe us, then, for watching us eat."

The two turned to go, and Kakashi could not for the life of him figure out why they hadn't been more upset. He stood on the rooftop trying to comprehend it for so long that a drunken Gai ran into him on his way home and challenged him to a race back to their respective houses. Drunk as he was, he didn't realize that there might not be anyone awake to witness their arrivals, and so there might not be a winner.

Anei and Asano, meanwhile, found a hotel that still had a few vacancies and booked a two-bed room until the Chunin Exams were done. They had been partners for long enough that there was no need to discuss who did what unless one of them wanted a temporary change of pace, so each of them took a bed and laid out what they'd keep with them when they left the room in the morning on the side furthest away from their teammate. Opposite sides helped lessen the confusion in the mornings, and neither was a morning person.

**A/N: Sorry it's so short. It didn't want to go any further.**


	2. Chapter 2

**AN: **** I DON'T OWN NARUTO**

Chapter 2:

Anei's alarm jutsu went off on time, as usual. It was 6:30 in the morning, and it pissed her off. She'd already thrown a kunai at it before she remembered that, as it was a jutsu, there was nothing physical to be destroyed, and she would have to turn it off with chakra. In the other bed, Asano rolled over, tucked his pillow tightly around his ears, and demanded that she make the loud noise stop. With a groan, Anei sat up, blinked, sent a flare of chakra to disable the alarm jutsu for the day, and got up to face the day. The Chunin Exams started at seven.

When she came out of the bathroom already dressed and ready to go, she yanked the covers off Asano and steadfastly informed him, "If I can't sleep in, neither can you." It didn't bother her that he slept only in boxers.

Grumbling about bitches who were always a pain in the ass, Asano rose and dressed, then grabbed Anei's remaining rice cakes and began munching on them. Anei glared, but snatched a few as well before opening the door and walking out first. A trail of rice fell from the cakes as they left, making Anei glad she wasn't room service and wouldn't have to clean it up. If they didn't hurry, though, they were going to miss the start of the Chunin exams.

Not even needing to consult her partner about speed, Anei said, "Sensei told us where the Chunin Exams are held, so I'm not worried about finding that, but I'm not liking the fact that you didn't get up when the alarm went off, because now we don't have time to eat breakfast."

Asano grunted and shrugged. "You know I'm not a morning person. The alarm should've been set for earlier."

Anei growled under her breath, but didn't disagree. She kept her mouth shut and her temper leashed as they leaped from rooftop to rooftop on their way to the Exams. They started today, and neither wanted to be late. There were unknown ninja to observe, and they had been trained to learn everything they could about anyone who could be an enemy. During the Exams, they might even wind up being pitted against their respective teammate in a fight, but Anei and Asano already knew each other's abilities, so they weren't worried about having to observe each other.

Arriving at the building where the Exams were held, the pair each raised an eyebrow upon noticing that so many among their competition were so unobservant as to mistake the floor they were on as the one listed for their Exam. Shaking their heads, the two drifted past on silent feet, noticed only by the Chunin observers, the silent Sasuke, and the reserved Neji. They would find out more by watching who joined them in the real waiting area than anything else.

Anei watched the blond from Konoha's Team Seven open his mouth and make enemies out of almost everyone. Her eyebrow twitched. Beside her, Asano didn't know whether to applaud the other boy on a job well done or ask if he was mentally challenged.

"Isn't it supposed to be us making so many enemies?" he wanted to know.

His teammate grunted. "Sensei said not to show our hand until at least the third part of the Exam, so…not yet, Asano."

"Damn," he muttered.

"Trust me, I feel the same way." Her tone was wry, her expression annoyed. She had no more wish to hold back than he did. "But Sensei gave us orders, and we will follow them like the rebellious ninja we are."

Asano blinked. "…in what way are we being rebellious, though? Being Sensei's students, or disobeying his orders?"

"The first," she told him. "Until we need to disobey."

"Oh, that's fine, then."

In agreement once more, the pair turned to watch the rest of the Genin group's escapades until a silver-haired Konoha ninja appeared next to Team Seven. This one wasn't their sensei, the strange duo was reasonably certain.

"Hello. My name is Yakushi Kabuto." It occurred to the newcomer that Team Seven was comprised of hot-headed Genin and the males were staring at him with varying expressions of dislike. The female was glaring at the blond, but transferred her gaze to Kabuto when he spoke. "I couldn't help overhearing your conversation."

"Hn," huffed the Uchiha. It was obvious he didn't believe that for a minute.

"Where the hell did you come from!" demanded the hyperactive blond, apparently offended that he hadn't noticed the other approaching.

Ignoring the question, Kabuto said, "Since you're new, I'll share my information with you guys."

On the sidelines, Anei and Asano narrowed their eyes in unison. What information did he have, and why the hell was he sharing it with someone who would soon be an opponent? They had their suspicions.

"Info? I wonder if he knows where my secret stash of pocky is. I seem to have misplaced it."

"Misplaced, my ass."

"Wait—you misplaced your ass? How the hell?"

"It's a figure of speech," deadpanned Anei. "You didn't misplace your pocky. I got hold of it." A brief smile flashed across her face. "And I ate it." Her voice was smugly satisfied.

"Nani! You owe me 666 boxes of pocky!"

"Um, no. It was paybacks for you drinking my 666 bottles of sake...in one night." The glare she aimed at him was both cold and cruelly pleased.

"I was thirsty!" protested Asano.

"And I was hungry, so we're even. Now shush. The silver-haired guy's about to speak again."

"These are my ninja info cards," he said, infusing the deck with his chakra. "They show all the information I have on my opponents. I have at least a little information on everybody here." Kabuto raised a hand to push his glasses higher on his nose.

Sasuke was about to say something, but Inuzuka Kiba had overheard the conversation. "Hey, then do you know where Akamaru's bone stash is?"

"Why would I know that?"

"You just said you had information on every ninja here."

"I don't keep info on dogs."

"But he's a dog _ninja_!"

"Just shut up," scoffed the Uchiha. Then he asked the question he'd been wanting to since Kabuto first mentioned having information. "What do you know about those two?" he queried, pointing at the two-man team whose sensei still hadn't shown.

"Takai Anei and Yukimura Asano. They have no home village, no third teammate, and have taken no D-rank missions."

"What!" exclaimed the blond.

"Hmph. Then they must be weak."

"But," continued the silver-haired Genin, "they have completed twenty C-rank, twelve B-rank, and five A-rank missions."

Team Seven's jaws dropped simultaneously. Was he serious?

"Their sensei's name is—"

"Hey, are those Yu-Gi-Oh! cards?" Asano wanted to know.

Anei, at his side, swept her gaze up and down like she was measuring where her blade would tear them apart. Unfortunately for her, her teammate knew her well.

"Now, now, Anei...you were just saying that we have to keep a low profile!"

"... Damn it," she growled. Her cold gaze fell on the deck of cards and she smiled. "Sorry to do this," she told Kabuto as she yanked them out of his hands. "Okay, so I'm not sorry. But Sensei said to keep a low profile, and I'd rather not piss him off yet." She drew her sword and held it up, sliding the deck of cards along the edge.

Sasuke wondered if she was testing its sharpness, but when she threw the cards behind her, the deck exploded. As the last boom faded, the faint click of the sword being sheathed was heard.

And suddenly the time to talk was over. The next thing they knew, the first Exam's proctor walked in with a group of Chunin.

"My name is Morino Ibiki, and I'll be your proctor for the first Exam."

Anei and Asano nodded approval in tandem as the proctor revealed the scars on top of his head. It took a good ninja to deal with that kind of pain, not to mention still be an active ninja after all that trauma and scarring. They completely missed Ibiki telling the students his rules, but since they'd been told not to show their hands until at least the third Exam, it wasn't a problem. Sitting down in their appointed seats, both immediately sunk the tips of their swords into the floorboards. Their swords would help them discuss the problems and their answers silently, using the floor they were both touching to convey the messages.

As the Chunin observers handed out a test to each student, Asano got impatient and accidentally punched an indent into the desktop in front of him. Anei, seated behind him, only snorted and shook her head, asking her katana to have Asano's blade tell him to calm down. Then the test was in front of them, and they settled down to work. They discussed weapon trajectories, jutsu uses, hand signs…every question on the test was dissected and the pieces sewn into a response. Finally, it was time for the last question, and when they heard it, Anei and Asano just laughed.

"Who…the hell…would…say no…to…a question…on…an Exam…they agreed…to take…in the…first place?" Anei managed to ask between cackling fits.

Closer to the proctor, Asano was just as wrapped in hilarity. "Are you guys that scared of Baldy that you would quit? Damn, you weak-ass pussies," he manage to spit out as his face turned red from lack of air. He tipped back in his chair, lost his balance in a fit of laughter, and hit his head on the desk behind him as he fell to the floor. Not that it stopped him from laughing.

When everyone who refused to take the question—and their teammates—were out of the room, Ibiki looked around…and the corners of his lips quirked up in a smile. "Congratulations. Everyone still here passes the first part of the Chunin Exam."

The pink-haired kunoichi—Sakura, if Asano remembered right—was dumbfounded. "What? What do you mean? What's the tenth question?"

As their proctor explained that the tenth question was, essentially, whether or not they were willing to put it all on the line, whether or not they had the confidence to do so, Anei stood up and joined Asano. "Trick question, then," she summed up, poking him in the ribs to see him jump and glare at her. She gave him her version of the Cheshire Cat grin, which meant her eyes were closed to hide their mischief and she was laughing at him inside, while all attention went to her smile.

"Mesuinu," he muttered. Asano rubbed his ribs to rid himself of the feeling of being poked, then casually smacked her upside the head.

"Temē," she hissed back. The cessation of quiet yanked her attention back to the front of the room along with Asano's, and the whole room stared at the kunoichi in the trench coat who'd just appeared.

"I am Mitarashi Anko, and I will be your proctor for the second part of the Chunin Exams!" She posed dramatically, and behind her, Ibiki coughed.

"Anko, you're a day early. It's not your turn quite yet. Besides, you interrupted my finishing touches."

The kunoichi shrugged. "Meh, whatever. Can't have been good anyway. I mean, there's two over there not even paying attention to you." She pointed to Anei and Asano, who had decided that the proctors' argument meant that theirs could keep going.

"Your temper's too volatile!"

"And yours isn't volatile enough."

"You need to quit snapping at people when you skip a meal!"

"Then you can remember to bring me food."

"I'm not your mother!"

"So quit acting like you want to be."

"Quit turning my words around on me!"

"If you quit leaving such tempting openings."

"Stop being such a bitch!"

"But it's in my nature."

Asano lost his temper. "If you don't knock it the _fuck_ off, I'm gonna tell Sensei on you!"

Anei cracked a grin. "What, right now? In the middle of Konoha?"

He blinked. "Um, oh, yeah…." A drop of sweat slid down his face. "…never mind. Sensei'd say no anyways." And totally kick his ass while lecturing at full volume, both teammates knew...probably pulling Anei in for punishment just to relieve boredom, as well.

At the front of the room, Anko and Ibiki couldn't help but stare. Then Anko started to grin, and Ibiki shook himself out of his reverie.

"Second Exam starts tomorrow. Meet in front of the Forest of Death. Be there early." Then Anko laughed and left.

Anei and Asano looked at each other blankly, shrugged, pulled their swords out of the floor, sheathed them, and left shoulder to shoulder. Neji and Sasuke stared after them, wondering just what the hell those two were up to.

When all the students were out of the classroom, Ibiki started picking up the Exam papers. He stared at Naruto's, which was blank, and couldn't help but laugh. Then he picked up Anei's and Asano's, and was amazed to discover that their papers had the same responses, word for word. They had nitpicked through the questions, giving snide answers that, at the same time, were entirely correct, and took into account factors that hadn't even been mentioned. In the back of his mind, he wished they were from Konoha….

Asano and Anei had a celebratory dinner, a couple hours worth of sparring, and then went to bed. They had a test to 'take' tomorrow, so to speak, and they were damn well showing up prepared. Sensei had told them about that place….

Team Seven congratulated itself on completing the first half of the Exam. They had just finished eating at a restaurant when Sakura asked her sensei a question.

"Kakashi-sensei, I saw two people at the first part of the Exam. I believe their names were Anei and Asano. Why don't they have a third team member? Isn't it against the rules to compete with less than three?"

Kakashi turned his head to look at her. "I am not quite sure, but most likely they are disciples under their sensei and don't come from a ninja village." Truthfully, he had a good idea who their sensei was—and if he was right, it wasn't anyone he wanted around Konoha. There was such a thing as too much chaos.

Sakura said a silent 'oh' before she spoke again. "Well, I don't think they are going to last long, then, since there are only two of them and they're more annoying than Naruto."

Naruto's face went red. "Hey, that's mean, Sakura!"

Sakura glared at him. "Well, you are!"

"Now, now, Sakura," the Jonin interjected, "don't underestimate them; they are full of surprises, just like Naruto, here." _Especially if their sensei is who I think it is..._

With that, Naruto's face brightened up and they bid farewell and went home. Even though Kakashi warned them against complacency, all three had done well so far.

In other places, the other teams that had passed met, glad to have succeeded so far. But if only they knew what the new day would bring...

**AN: there is ch.2 hope you post a review good or bad i want to know what the readers think of the story and post suggestions for a paring for the male OC**


	3. Chapter 3

**AN: chapter 3 is up read and post a review whether it be good or bad please**

**I don't own NARUTO  
**

Chapter 3:

Anko stared out at the Genin faces assembled before her. She had noticed that the two ninja that were arguing yesterday were not present. She was wondering if they'd chickened out when she heard a yawn, followed by another, coming from right behind her. Spinning around, she saw Asano and Anei in their pajamas, walking out of the Forest of Death.

"Why the hell are you walking out of there in your underclothes!"

Asano was the first to speak up. "Oh, shit! Anei, we're still in what we slept in!"

Anei looked down. "Kuso!"

Turning, they leaped back into the Forest of Death, returning a minute later, fully dressed.

Anko yelled again. "Why were you two sleeping in the Forest of Death!"

Again, Asano spoke up first. "One, we now have a camp already set up, so we can waste less time, and two, we know the area now, so we won't get lost."

For some reason, this really pissed Anko off. "You're not allowed to do that!"

It was Anei's turn to speak. "Well, you never said we couldn't; plus, you said to be here early." Technically, they had been there even before the proctor herself.

She was dumbfounded. "Good point. Now GET WITH THE OTHER GENIN!" Finally, she was able to give her speech and hand out the forms. But now she was wondering why the pair she'd first noticed the day before were grinning like vicious predators. "I have one parting piece of advice for you all," she informed the collective Genin. "JUST DON'T DIE!"

Anei and Asano grinned wickedly at each other and chorused, "Oh, don't worry... WE won't!"

Then it was time to get their scroll and head into the Forest.

In the forest:

"So, Anei, which scroll do we have?" asked Asano as they walked back to camp.

"Earth, so we need Heaven."

There was a moment of comfortable silence between them, and then, "I take it you sensed him, too."

"Yes. But we should get a duplicate scroll first, just in case he takes ours, since we can't go all-out yet."

"True."

The pair set out to find aforementioned duplicate scroll—and hopefully two of the Heaven scrolls, as well. There were things they had to do, but for now there were traps to set up...

After two hours of methodical mayhem, the duo was infuriated.

"This is FUCKING bullshit!" snarled Asano.

"Goddamn, mother fucking CONSPIRACIES!" raged Anei. "Five FUCKING teams, and all GODDAMN, MOTHER FUCKING EARTH SCROLLS!" She wasn't enraged, no, not at all...

She wasn't the only one feeling pissed, either. Next to her, Asano punched a tree, a growl rumbling in his throat. Veins popped out on his fists, showing just how angry he really was. At his side, Anei's face evidenced her barely held temper, and her breathing rasped out in a not-quite-contained snarl.

As one, the pair cut down two nearby trees, causing them to fall heavily, sending frightened animals fleeing and alerting their fellow Genin to their presence in the area. They didn't care; they'd be elsewhere soon anyways. At their next stop, there was a stroke of luck.*

Asano lulled the enemy trio into a false sense of complacency by showing up and taunting them immaturely. Anei, of course, took advantage of the team's idiocy in chasing after her mocking partner to pick their pockets. Her hand emerged from a scroll pouch, and she was so disgusted with their luck that she went to toss it over her shoulder without even glancing at it.

"Check it before you waste the opportunity!" snarled Asano.

With a put-upon huff, she rolled her eyes and flicked a bored gaze over it—only to yip enthusiastically. "Finally!"

"Wait—it's a Heaven Scroll!"

Anei nodded exuberantly, flashing a blinding smile and holding the scroll out to show him. The bereft team took offense, scrambling for the scroll. With a mock-scowl, Anei jumped into a nearby tree and shook her finger at them forbiddingly.

"Ah, ah, ah! Naughty ninja! We stole it fair and squ—well, squiggly-ish." She scratched her head, realizing belatedly that she was beginning to annoy herself again.

"Alright, we've got the Heaven Scroll. Let's go stash it and find something more...durable...to vent our rage on." An evil smile crossed his lips, well matched by the cruel smirk on her face.

All three enemy ninja stared. What the hell was wrong with these two? They weren't even in the process of escaping with the scroll yet, and they didn't appear to be paying any attention to the team they'd just stolen from.

"Oh, yes... It's time to have some fun." They both knew exactly who their target was; he'd been sensed earlier anyways, and it was doubtful he was aware of the fact—which meant they could catch him off guard.

"Hyaaah!" Chakra flared, announcing to all and sundry that the trio of bereft ninja was charging. It wasn't, perhaps, the smartest move to have made.

As one, both let their chakra rampage for a moment. The power loosed not only cheered them up, but also slammed the dimwitted trio of opponents into a very large old tree. Truth be told, they were disgusted that the attack had been so...obvious. Sneak attacks would have made them happier—and, more importantly, more lenient—with the enemy team.

"So," growled Asano. "What should we do with them...?" He cracked his knuckles, smiling with anticipation.

"That's a good question... I mean, we don't want to be NICE about this... They broke the RULES... NO STEALBACKS!"

"Yeah, we stole it fair and square!"

"Um, squiggly-ish," interrupted Anei. Apparently she'd decided that was the word they were going to use to describe the theft of the Heaven Scroll.

Faces pasty white and growing paler by the minute, the enemy trio gulped in unison. It was looking like they wouldn't pass the Exam this time around...

"Whatever." He rolled his eyes. "We could always torture them," suggested Asano.

"Burn them?"

"Cut them to pieces."

"Rip random body parts off?" She glanced aside. "Oh, look! They wet themselves..." Her tone of voice conveyed the impression that she thought something about the situation was cute—whether it was her own attitudes, those of her teammate, or the fact that their enemies had just lost bowel control in fear, not even the Yukimura was entirely sure.

Asano snapped his fingers. "I know! Let's play 'What Would Sensei Do?'!"

This was immediately agreed to, and three ashen faces stared in horror as the implements for this game were removed from the packs. It was the first time in their lives they'd been so utterly terrified, and their hearts nearly seized up with fear.

Anei and Asano weren't sure yet if they'd kill their opponents or not, but regardless, there would be bloodshed. Screams resounded throughout the Forest, and, in the end, even the infamous Sannin, Orochimaru, would have shuddered at what was done.

As the pair left the area, the unspoken thought that was running through both their heads was, _Sensei's gonna be so PISSED about this when she finds out..._


	4. Chapter 4

**AN: chapter 4 is up read and post a review whether it be good or bad please**

**I don't own NARUTO**

Chapter 4:

Meanwhile, team 7 had stopped to come up with a plan of action before they left naruto went to go water the flowers so to speak we he come back they where about to leave when sasuke noticed some thing off about naruto.

"You're not Naruto," Sasuke stated coldly.

The wanna-be Naruto** blinked. "How did you know?" came the suddenly smoother voice. A genjutsu was released, allowing the face it had hidden to be seen.

Definitely not Naruto.

"...Naruto's too dumb to remember the answer," the Uchiha smirked.

Sakura nodded support and agreement, keeping a wary eye on the strange ninja even as she wondered where the hell their blond comrade was. She didn't have long to wonder, because they squared off almost immediately.

Another Meanwhile, Naruto crashed through the bushes, muttering to himself. "I HAD to go a mile out; not three trees away, a MILE, all to take a piss! Just because that damn pink-haired kunoichi had to pitch a fit. If it had been Sasuke, Sakura would have let him drop his drawers and piss on her and never said a word! But no, she just _has_ to be a bitch! Why the hell did I ever like her in the first place? The only kunoichi in my age group who's worth the time it takes to give the time of day is Hinata. Maybe I should ask her out when the Exam is over?" He thought for a moment, returning again and again to the dismal fact that he'd once obsessed over Haruno Sakura. "... I think I just liked her because she was the ugliest and most likely to go out with me..." This was in no way flattering—to either of them.

He stiffened when he felt chakra flaring in the direction of his team, more because Sasuke was his rival and he was itching for a fight than because he had any feelings for Sakura. Then he was too busy to worry about his team, because a giant snake attacked him. It swallowed him whole, and his temper got the better of him. Fingers moving swiftly to form the correct hand signs, he performed the art of the kage bunshin, the shadow clones...

Sasuke and Sakura weren't the only ones surprised when their blond teammate showed up, carrying a giant snake with the help of several shadow clones. Their enemy hissed like they'd killed his brother.

"Hey, Sasuke! If you can do a fire jutsu tonight, let's have snake steak!"

The Uchiha laughed a little breathlessly. Only Naruto...***

Then the quartet faced off again, this time three on one. It was an uneven fight in that their opponent seemed unreasonably strong, fast, and resilient, for a supposed Genin. But Naruto had an idea—one that had worked before.

"Sasuke! Remember when we were fighting Zabuza?" When his partner's eyes widened, the blond knew he didn't have to go any further.

They had a plan. And they put it to good use.

When Naruto's kage bunshin showed up again, only the enemy was clueless. The shadow clones dashed around, attacking the ninja who didn't seem able to stop smirking. Several were dispatched quickly, but they bought just enough time for what the blond had suggested.

Uchiha Sasuke drew a giant shuriken from his pack, hefted it, and said, "Demon Wind Shuriken: Windmill of Shadows!" before hurling it at the enemy.

As had happened the first time they'd used this move, their opponent underestimated them. Naruto was close enough to dispel his transformation jutsu in favor of slashing at the smug ninja with a kunai. The enemy dodged some of the attack—but it ripped apart his face. Or rather, it should have. But where blood should have been pouring down, there was only a flap of loose skin—and paler skin underneath.

Uzumaki Naruto glared, offended. "What the hell! Who _are_ you!"

The other ninja hissed laughter, bowed mockingly, and introduced himself for real. "My name is Orochimaru."

Naruto's first thought was, _I don't recognize the name._ His second was, _This temē seems more emo than Sasuke..._

Then Orochimaru hit them with a look—an ocular jutsu that essentially paralyzed them, leaving them open and vulnerable. But Uchiha Sasuke was just as arrogant as their enemy, and had the benefit of being an Uchiha on top of that. So when their team froze like deer in headlights, he berated himself mentally until he could find a way out of the jutsu.

He stabbed himself in the thigh. And then he smiled. _That cocky temē thinks that he can get away with that around someone like ME? I DON'T THINK SO._

Sasuke mocked Naruto until the blond snapped out of the jutsu, as well, and then the rival duo took turns attacking the snake-nin. Or so it seemed.

Pulling the wires tight, Sasuke called out to Naruto, who immediately vacated the area. The Phoenix Flower jutsu the Uchiha used sent an impressive wave of flames over the wires at their enemy, who had a panicked moment when he couldn't dodge.

But their enemy was just too strong, too tough, too resilient. He survived in surprisingly good shape, shedding the rest of the ninja whose skin he'd worn like a snake sloughs off its old scales. And then he took Naruto out of the fight.

Sakura was too scared to even pitch in, so Sasuke knew he was on his own. And he knew that he might not be able to win. But Uchiha pride was a renowned motivator, and he wouldn't, _couldn't_ lose without trying.

His efforts were valiant, but as fast as he was, his enemy was faster. As strong as he was, the snake-nin was stronger. And as resilient as he was, Orochimaru was unfortunately more so. In short, Uchiha Sasuke was going to lose.

Orochimaru was smug, knowing he'd found a new body—once he'd trained it up to the level he wanted, of course. He wore the boy down, pinned him, and made to leave his mark on the young Uchiha.

"Back away from Itachi-Sa-suke!" Anei barely caught herself as she snarled, watching with a cruelly pleased glint in her eyes as her kunai passed where the snake-ninja's head had been only moments before. Too bad the bastard moved...

Anei and Asano landed lightly on the tree, standing firmly between the Sannin and his target. There were certain things not in their orders that they knew their sensei would be okay with. Protecting Uchiha Sasuke was one of them.

"Hah, we made it just in time!" Asano growled triumphantly. To Anei, he said, "And that was a lovely mess up."

"Who are you!" hissed Orochimaru.

"Takai Anei, not at your service. Sensei'd kill me first." This was stated in deadpan tones, but had the ring of truth to it. To Asano, she said, "Shut up." _It's bad enough I sounded like I have a crush on Itachi-san, anyways... Sensei'd kill me if I __really did. But that silver-haired ninja we caught watching us eat and then tailing us... He's HOT!_

"Ah, no, Anei." To the snake-nin, he said, "Yukimura Asano, and what she said. Sensei has a temper."

Neither could quite hide the wince that sentence provoked. It was too true for them to successfully deny it. Not that they would have bothered. Why hide what was an asset when it wasn't aimed at them?

"Don't bother introducing yourself," Anei told him. "We've been given your description—and firm orders to refrain from joining your team even as spies." A cold smirk crossed her lips. "Guess you did something to piss sensei off. Not difficult—but considering how pissed sensei seemed, it was taken personally."

"And who issss your ssssenssssei?" hissed Orochimaru.

For some reason, this amused the pair who'd stationed themselves between two arrogant ninja. "Now THAT would be telling," they jinxed.

Instead of waiting for him to attack and put them on the defensive, the duo jumped for him at the same time, not having to so much as say a word to coordinate their moves. As Anei ducked low with a sweep at his legs, Asano swung his blade at the Sannin's face. Unfortunately for them, the snake-nin was experienced and quick, and he dodged the blows, sliding backwards to lunge at them. But the team split, one using a jutsu to pass through the tree branch and out the other side, the other acting like a monkey and taking a perch above him. He found this particularly irksome. It meant they were harder to hit.

"Sensei can't stand tattle-tales," Anei mocked.

Orochimaru slanted a glare at the snide young woman through the tree branch between them, and Asano took advantage of the opening Anei had made sure was there. He flung a brace of kunai at the snake-nin, rushing in to add as much extra damage as possible. The pale ninja hissed again, jumping backward to avoid the kunai and going head to head with the temperamental Yukimura. Asano found himself hurtling headfirst towards a tree and would have slammed into it had Anei not been paying attention. She threw him a wire weighted with a kunai, but left him to swing back into the fray on his own.

Her next move was to send the young Uchiha flying into his pink-haired teammate and take a stance in front of their team. "Get them out of the way!" she snapped at Haruno Sakura. To Orochimaru, she growled, "You want them? Over my dead body."

The snake-ninja smiled. "My pleasure," he crooned. Then he lunged.

And suddenly Asano was back in the fight, throwing shuriken at Orochimaru. But their enemy was fast, a little too fast to be hit without consummate trickery. Thankfully, their sensei had made them experts in that area.

"Yo, waxed and scaly!" Asano called out, making Anei huff laughter. "Get your sorry tail over here! I think you lost your rattle!"

Snake-ninja that he was, Orochimaru didn't take offense until the Yukimura likened him to a slug and called him slimy. For some reason, that was extremely offensive to him. So he slithered towards Asano in a dash, hands forming signs for a jutsu.

Asano swore when snakes rushed at him too fast to dodge. He wound up wrapped in scales and stringy bodies, and the young man was pissed. As his eyes flashed red and his hair waved in a non-existent breeze, Anei told him no vehemently.

"Don't do it, Asano! Sensei said not 'til the third part, if then!"

With a low growl, the color faded and the non-existent breeze subsided. Asano was getting fed up with this situation. Fighting with limitations of any kind wasn't fun unless it was on a whim or for paybacks. And, truth be told, there was no way they could win like this. They couldn't even chase him off for a while like this.

_This chaps my ass,_ thought Anei. _Where is sensei when we need it? Elsewhere. If sensei gets pissy about this later, I think I'll throw it in her face that if she wanted us following her rules, she should keep a closer eye on us to help us stay out of trouble._

Anei ignored the little voice in the back of her head that said her sensei would have no qualms over beating them black and blue for allowing themselves to get into a situation where breaking the rules was the only way out even relatively intact.

Anei made to leap forward in an attempt to free her comrade, before his ribs got crushed to dust, but a raven flew in front of her before she had a chance. She froze, attention riveted on the large black bird before her. _Is he revealing himself at THIS stage in the game...?_ With a few quick glances, she discovered that the pink-haired kunoichi had finally done something useful and gotten her teammates away safely. There was no one present save herself, Asano, and their enemy to notice.

Black, beady eyes studied the snake-nin somberly, and then the bird spoke. "You will not touch either of these two again, nor will you so much as come near my brother or the blond boy again.

Orochimaru hissed. _I know that voice!_ "Well, if it isn't the infamous Uchiha Itachi... Students of yours?" he drawled, leaning towards the closer of his enemies—Asano, who flipped out and started calling him a slimy toad before threatening to squash him once he got loose.

The threats were ignored as if they'd never existed, and the face-off continued. "More like pests." As soon as the snake-nin blinked, the raven-shaped ninja said softly, "Anei. Use the predator's scream."

She blinked once before comprehension dawned. _The predator's scream calls to all predators within hearing range—whether demon or animal, excluding pure humans alone. He wants me to use this move because it takes an enormous amount of chakra and will cover whatever chakra he uses in the meantime. _"... Right!" As she formed a number of hand signs, her primary thought was, _Glad I'm wearing fingerless gloves today..._

Then she bit through the tip of her thumb and finished the incantation. "Art of dark Scream: Predator's Purview no Jutsu!" Her hand hit the ground and an eerie, whistling howl cut through the air.

_Good, she understood my intention,_ Itachi mused. He took advantage of the gigantic amount of energy she was flaring wildly to drive off Orochimaru without risk of blowing his cover, then turned back to her. This amount of energy would have overwhelmed anyone who wasn't Jonin level or above—or wasn't used to it, like Asano was. Although the downside to this is that once she performs the jutsu someone else has to release her—In other words, Anei trapped herself every time she used this particular jutsu.

Meanwhile, Yukimura Asano was swearing mentally. _I hate it when she uses this jutsu without giving me time to guard against it! _

"Asano, you've got it from here." Black wings spread wide as he swooped out of the tree and flew away.

Yukimura Asano glared at the vanishing tail feathers even as he felt the jutsu taking hold of him—and then he bit his teammate.

She let out a low yelp, turning to snarl at him before the jutsu began to fray. Then it was gone, and she told him, "I'd say thanks but you're probably pissed, so just keep in mind that it wasn't _my_ idea to use that jutsu." Looking around, she frowned. "We should check up on that team that he just helped us save."*****

He couldn't argue with that. Snakes were tricky bastards, and he really didn't want to have sensei chewing them out for not making sure everything was as it should be. Sensei did, after all, have a temper.

**AN: chapter 5 will take some time my friend got me into wow and i have been lazy with the fic  
**


	5. Chapter 5

**AN: frist sorry that took so long but ch.5 is up second i want to thank every who story alerted and added this fic to there favorites **

**and lastly TO DAISKI who ever who my be: we appreciate your review, and thank you for taking the time to read and respond to this collaboration. However, there were a few things you brought to our attention that we'd like to clarify.**

** Please don't make assumptions. This is a collaboration written by three people, and, contrary to what you've said you think, we're not intending to have our OCs either ridiculously powerful or the main protagonists. Essentially, this will be a different plot line with OCs, but since one thing our OCs will do is help other characters raise their power, they won't be anywhere near the most powerful characters in the story. And, actually, they're not students of Itachi. We won't introduce their real sensei until after the prelims for the 3rd Exam, and all three OCs have, shall we say, their own variations on multiple personality issues, which not only affects their relationships but also their combat skills. It will help us keep them in check, power-wise.**

** We plan to power up several of the less-used characters in Naruto, plus several of the key characters. This story will be centered around not just Naruto, but also several other Konoha ninja, and perhaps a few of Suna, as well. Yes, our OCs will feature, but not as much as it seems right now. The main issue is, we're operating on the notion that readers know at least the Rookie Nine and their senseis, so we're not introducing them as much as we are our OCs. It's difficult to find a balance there that most readers like. We're trying, and would appreciate continued feedback as we continue posting.**

** All three of us writing this have odd ways of thinking, so please don't assume things. The way you phrased your review was actually rather offensive, and if you don't know what we're thinking or where we're going with this, we'd prefer that you ask for clarification or find a more tactful way of saying you dislike something. Making us mad does nothing for your enjoyment of the story, and what is the point of writing anything unless the readers enjoy it?**

** Let us know what you like or dislike in the fic, certainly. Just phrase things more politely, please; your review was well-written enough that I'm reasonably sure it's easy for you to do. If you can't think of a more polite way of saying something, just add something like, "I'm not trying to be offensive, but..."**

** Looking forward to continued feedback,**

** Cuzosu, Fullmoon, and Shikyokage**

**I DON'T OWN NARUTO IF I DID ITACHI WOULD STILL BE ALIVE I SAY ALIVE!**

**Chapter 5:**

About ten minutes later, they found the team they were looking for. The blond was dumped unceremoniously into a heap just close enough to the fire to warm up. Uchiha Sasuke was out cold a little closer to the fire, with the pink-haired kunoichi tending him. And she obviously didn't know whether or not to treat them as friends or enemies when they showed up.

"What do you want?" were the first words out of her mouth.

The duo shared an ironic glance. "No thanks? What in the names of ninety-seven hells is Konoha teaching their ninja these days?" This was said with probably more dramatics than were necessary, because they really didn't care.

Sakura coughed, embarrassed, then apologized. "Thank you for saving us. It's just—_why_ did you save us?"

Anei answered as she rearranged Naruto's limbs so that he could heal better, "Well, to be honest, our sensei taught us to have a real prejudice against snakes. And, the guy we fought? He used snake techniques. Sensei said they were forbidden, and, um, it took more than just us to drive him off."

Sakura spoke out rather immaturely. "But that's against the rules!"

Asano snorted. "Tell that to the snake-nin who has to be at least Jonin level. Anei and I have beaten higher-ranked Chunin before. And we spar with Jonin on a fairly regular basis, so we know what a fight with them feels like."

There was a quiet 'oh' from the pink-haired kunoichi, and then Sasuke started waking up. He grimaced as his weary body made known that it hurt like hell, and then he checked his surroundings. Seeing Anei and Asano, he pulled himself to his feet and demanded to know why they were there.

Asano shrugged. "We decided to look out for you guys. I mean, we only barely managed to keep you three from serious harm. If we'd shown up even a minute later, I don't want to think what might have happened. No way in hell is he a Genin. Maybe your sensei can tell you more about him."

_Oh, I'd love to see that. The infamous Copy-nin, cornered by his students into explaining something Konoha has deemed fit for only the upper echelons of ninja to know...!_ Anei couldn't help but grin.

Sasuke narrowed his eyes at the kunoichi not on his team. "Don't think I missed that slip of the tongue when you first showed up to fight that guy who called himself Orochimaru. You almost called me Itachi. That's my brother's name. How do you know him!"

With a wince, she rubbed the back of her head, embarrassed. "Well, it's sensei's fault. She has this...for lack of a more enthusiastic and demanding term, let's call it a crush...on your brother. She stalks him, so we see him fairly often, and we get put through hell in training. Sensei doesn't care if she leaves us too long with certain methods of, well, we call it torture. And your brother's a real bastard when it comes to training us, too." An ebony feather drifted down in front of her, and Anei realized he'd heard every word she had said—which meant, unfortunately for her, that her sensei would hear it all, too. _Kami, we're in for it later..._

Oblivious to the feather, Asano said, "All I can say is it's a good thing you made that jutsu, Anei. We'd have been toast if you hadn't."

"What jutsu?" Sasuke scowled. "And why are you calling your sensei a female when you were saying you had a male sensei earlier?"

"Slight trickery," grinned Asano. "As for the jutsu... We call it the predator's scream, for short. It summons all non-human predators that can hear it, whether demon or animal. Powerful effects, and has the added bonus of obscuring your chakra if you know how hers fluctuates when she's using that jutsu." There was a brief pause. "The bad part is that I always seem to wind up dealing with the aftermath," grumped the Yukimura.

Anei and Asano decided that they should rest. Asano was sure some of his ribs were broken, and Anei was almost out of chakra. Giving the pink-haired shinobi instructions on which traps to set up where, Anei then joined Asano in moving Naruto and Sasuke, who needed help walking to a nearby cave. After they put both the male members of Team Seven down, the duo sat and began healing themselves. After a few minutes, Sakura walked into the cave and noticed the two ninja that were not on her team.

"What are you guys still doing here?" piped the female member of Team Seven.

Asano and Anei looked at her and in unison spoke, "Healing, duh. What did you think we were doing?" The look they gave her bespoke plainly that if she voiced so much as one more word, they'd slaughter her messily.

After an hour of silence, Naruto woke up. Before he said a word, he got four death glares—that would make anyone with sense be quiet. Not five minutes later, there was a resounding din; sounds of slicing, snapping, and crunching filled the air.

"Oh, goody," rejoiced Anei. "I do so love the sounds of injuries first thing in the morning." She blithely ignored the fact that it wasn't morning.

Asano smiled. "Sounds like the traps were set off. So now we vote: human or nonhuman?"

"Human."

"Nonhuman."

"Nonhuman."

"Nonhuman."

"And I vote human, so how do we find out?" Asano scanned the perspective candidates until he found his mark. "Girl with the pink hair—Sakura, was it?—go check."

Sakura's face went pasty white. "Why...me...?" she whimpered.

Anei swiveled her head around to fix a predatory bird's single-minded gaze on her fellow kunoichi. She smiled and said, "If you don't, I will give you worse injuries than what we all have combined." In a falsely sweet tone, she added, "Do I make myself clear?"

If the Haruno girl's face had been white before it was transparent with fear now. "A-alright, I'll...be right back." She stumbled to her feet and rushed off, clearly aware that anywhere Anei wasn't was probably safer for her to be.

"If it's an animal, bring it back; we're all hungry!" shouted Anei.

The sound of puking reached the four wounded shinobis' ears. Sasuke _tsk_ed to himself. Naruto was somewhat stunned, and Anei shook her multi-colored hair and rolled her eyes. Asano, on the other hand...

"Make sure you clean that up!" called the blond. "I don't want to have to smell that!" If he was more of an asshole than he had been as a child, it was only because he'd been trained to be.

Nice guys finish last,* so what was the point in restraining one's inner bastard?

Naruto finally rose, only to sit down again next to Asano. "Wow, you guys are strong; how did you get to be like that?"

Asano pondered the thought. "... Horrifically intensified torture."

His fellow blond graced him with a puzzled look. "It can't be that bad..."

Before Naruto even finished speaking, both Asano and Anei were doubled over with laughter. Sasuke and Naruto traded looks of incomprehension, unable to understand what was so hilarious.

"What's so funny? I doubt it was _that_ bad," the Uchiha practically sneered.

Anei regained her breath first. "Heh, well, there was the time when Sensei dumped us both in a lake full of hungry crocodiles," she snickered. Then the memory floored her and she fell on her side, chittering evil laughter like an imp might.

It was Asano's turn to find his breath. "Yeah, and that was just to teach us how to swim. Plus, to make it worse, she stuck dead fish to our legs to lure in the crocs." He grinned. "Talk about a do-or-die teaching method," he chuckled.

Trading looks full of amusement and grins full of memories, Anei and Asano sighed and jinxed, "Ah, good times..."

_How can that be good times?_ Sasuke wondered, looking over at the strange duo. _And if that was the good, then what the hell is the bad?_ What he said was, "Point taken."

As the Uchiha turned to stare at the fire, Naruto said, "You two sure seem to get along." The Uzumaki seemed a little depressed.

Anei smirked. "Work well together, yes. Get along, not so much."

Naruto looked up. "Well, I'd at least like Sakura to _try _to get along with me."

Asano focused on his fellow blond. "Can't be that bad; I mean, you're both on the same team." This was perhaps a little naïve, but neither of the two-nin team was used to the squabbles that came with actual ninja villages. To them, being part of a team meant treating their equals with the respect that was required all around, with a dash more for those who taught them and only rarely any for enemies.

Naruto scowled. "She made me go a mile out just to take a piss. I bet if it had been Sasuke, Sakura would have let him piss all over her and never said a word!"

On Asano's face, an evil, malicious smile dawned. "I'll take that bet," he growled happily. Doing things that pissed off or upset people he barely knew always cheered him up. "Sasuke, get over here! I need a favor!"

Sasuke gave him a venomous glare, but stalked over. "What do you want?"

Asano whispered in the Uchiha's ear.

"Why the hell would I do that!" snapped the Uchiha. "She'd probably think it meant I liked her!"

Another evil grin. "If you do, I'll tell you where Itachi-sama is," he coaxed.

The Uchiha graced the blond who wasn't his teammate with a cold and pissed off stare. "Deal," he snarled softly, walking off to he'd been sitting previously.

As he stalked off, Anei moved next to her teammate. "What are you thinking?" she hissed. "Sensei will _kill_ us if we tell anyone where he is!" Whispering in her ear not only caught her attention, but also changed her mind. "So that's it... Sensei would forgive us for this." She glanced at him out of the corner of her eye. "Sometimes you're almost as evil as I am," the camouflaged kunoichi informed Asano approvingly.

"Thanks." Asano smiled.

"Don't get cocky," she told him. "I said almost." Rising, she went back to where she was previously sat, smirking to herself.

With a disappointed grunt, he sat back down. His good humor soon returned, though, a wide smile on his face again as Sakura returned. Her face was the green of grass and she was hauling a huge tiger behind her.

"Goody! Dinner's here!" shouted an enthusiastic and utterly cheerful Asano. "Anei, you're in charge of the meat's prep. Yes, I'm cooking." With that, he began to set up a makeshift stove.

"Alright, but you better not fuck up the food like you did last time." Anei rose, removed a large hunting knife from a sheath on her thigh. As she began to skin the animal, she overheard her teammate mutter something about messing up the food on purpose. Ignoring it, she got on with the gory business that was preparing food from whole animals.

After two hours, everyone had eaten and it was time to put the plan into action. Asano nodded to Sasuke, who rose without a word and walked over to Sakura.

"Sasuke, what are you—" began the pink-haired kunoichi, but she was completely ignored as the Uchiha pulled his pants down partway and started to let loose a stream. "Oh, Sasuke, I didn't know you felt this way about me! It MUST be love!"

Both blondes and the other kunoichi were trying their hardest to hold in the laughter. So far, the success rate was about fifty-fifty.

"So, Sakura, do you feel a warm tinkling feeling?" chortled Naruto. He doubled over, all the laughter he'd been holding back bursting through his best efforts and echoing hilarity in the cave.

"Nice one, blond, there might be hope for you yet," Anei snickered as she and Asano cracked up.

After Sasuke had watered the flowers, so to speak, he went as far as he could toward the back of the cave, followed by a wet and inexplicably still adoring kunoichi. "Sakura, leave me alone!" hissed the Uchiha.

"But Sasuke, what about our love?" She nearly gleamed with misplaced ecstacy.

Then Sasuke had an idea. "Look, if you leave me alone until after we get out of this forest, I will go on one small date with you." _Key words being 'one' and 'small.'_

Haruno Sakura's eyes grew wide with excitement. "Okay, it's a date!" She then pranced away to clean herself up.

Naruto walked over to Sasuke. "Hey, you're not really going to go on a date with her, are you?"

Sasuke looked askance at him. "I may have promised her a date, but I never said when, now did I...?" He smirked like only someone with great malice could.

"Nice," said Naruto. Following suit, he too smirked. It was fun to be on Team Seven since Anei and Asano had shown up. He was learning things about his Uchiha teammate he'd never known.

Later that night, only the two blondes were still awake. Naruto was suffering insomnia and Asano was standing watch. There was an hour remaining before the shift changed and Uchiha Sasuke took his turn.

"Um, Asano, can I ask you something?" Naruto was quieter than normal as he walked up to the other blond, who was stationed just outside the cave.

"Sure, I guess. What do you want?" yawned Asano.

"Well, I was wondering if you'd train me."

Whatever daze Asano was in, he snapped out of it upon hearing that. "Why would I train someone who could become my enemy?"

Naruto thought about it for a moment. "Oh, yeah, I guess you're right... Still, will you train me?"

Dumbfounded, Asano froze. _What the fuck? Not only did he NOT know that we might become enemies, but then when he does he STILL asks for training?_ Asano smirked, walked into the cave, and returned a moment later with a scroll.

"What is that?" Naruto asked.

"This," Asano stated as he opened the scroll, "this is where the fun begins." With a small boom, a bokken emerged. It was then handed to Naruto. "Here, take this wooden sword. It's made from a special tree so it can absorb chakra and then you can use it to unleash powerful attacks."

Naruto looked on in amazement, then tried to charge his chakra into the weapon. He was shocked to discover that the bokken absorbed his chakra easily and he could feel the power now within the wooden blade. "This is cool; can you show me an attack?" Handing the bokken to Asano, Naruto was hard pressed to contain his excitement and refused to take no for an answer.

"Sure, but I am only going to show you once." Asano accepted the weapon and smiled. "Hell, for this I'll even use your own chakra." Then he proceeded to do a simple downward slash, and all the chakra that was in the bokken came out in a crescent-shaped blast that went ten feet before dissipating. "There you go. Now, I'm going to wake up Sasuke for his shift. I need to sleep and you probably do too. Night."

Asano entered the cave, kicked the Uchiha awake, and a moment later said Uchiha emerged from the cave, rubbing his side. When he noticed Naruto training with what looked like a stick, Sasuke said, "Naruto-baka. What are you doing? It's my shift; go to bed."

The blond turned to face him. "Yeah, whatever. But just so you know, I will beat you."

Sasuke smirked and replied, "Looking forward to our next match, but I won't lose, you know."

Naruto was shocked at first; normally Sasuke would have just blown him off. However, it quickly changed to a smile as he said, "We'll see, Sasuke-teme. Alright, I'm going to bed." He went inside, leaving the Uchiha to his duty.

Both were looking forward to finishing this stage so they could fight their rivals—each other.


End file.
